Relief panel ca. 883-859 B.C. Assyrian This panel from the Northwest Palace at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) depicts a winged supernatural figure. Such figures appear throughout the palace, sometimes flanking either the figure of the Assyrian king or a stylized "sacred tree." The reliefs were painted, but today almost none of the original pigment survives. This panel is a rare exception, with some paint clearly visible on the figures sandals. Where pigment has survived on reliefs, it has often been near the bases. One suggested explanation for this has been that after the fall of the Assyrian empire and the sacking of its palaces at the end of the seventh century B.C., these areas were immediately buried in debris, and thus afforded more protection from weathering than the rest of the reliefs.The figure depicted on the panel is human-headed and faces left, holding in his left hand a bucket and in his right hand a cone whose exact nature is unclear. One suggestion has been that the gesture, s